George Zimmerman’s acquittal in the killing of Trayvon Martin has impacted and galvanized so many people. My friends, specifically, are taking all sorts of positions. Some are content because they believe justice has been served. Others are angry at what they see as the miscarriage of justice. As for myself, I have tried to ignore the entire thing from the beginning. After all, there are thousands upon thousands of children dying from violence every year. Why don’t they get all of this media attention? To me, Trayvon Martin’s case was a local thing. But it hasn’t been allowed to be a local thing. Instead, it’s a national, if not international, issue. I find myself finally being forced to clarify my thoughts…and my thoughts are far from pleasant.

Let me begin by saying…the death of Trayvon Martin was not regrettable. It wasn’t inevitable. It was wrong.

I also think, however, that vilifying George Zimmerman is wrong.

There are definitely people who deserve to be punished for Trayvon Martin’s death, but it isn’t George Zimmerman. Well, that isn’t exactly true. He was a participant. But it isn’t right that he is being singled out. True, he pulled the trigger. But other people are responsible for putting him and Trayvon Martin in that killing ground. More significantly, it was other people who gave George Zimmerman the gun that he used to kill Trayvon Martin.

Much has been made of the argument that it was Trayvon Martin’s race that led to his death. It is probably true. I find it quite believable that George Zimmerman was, or is, guilty of racial profiling. But then again, so is everyone else. Anyone who has never felt a pang of fear walking down the street toward one young, hooded, black male or a group of black males…or who has never felt a pang of fear as a group of Hispanic youths approach…or, well, I could continue but the point is that anyone who has never at the very least thought about crossing the street in such situations please raise your hand. Anyone who has had such thoughts, such fears, well, face it, you aren’t any different than George Zimmerman. It doesn’t make a bit of difference if you are from the same or different race or ethnic group or social group as the feared object. If you hold stereotypes about an individual based upon some sort of group membership and you act towards that individual based upon those stereotypes, then you really aren’t any different than George Zimmerman. I’d be willing to bet the bank that most people would have behaved the same as George Zimmerman. Perhaps not carrying a gun and firing it, but holding and acting upon the same attitudes towards Trayvon Martin that ultimately led to his death.

The reason people are filled with such anger and hatred toward George Zimmerman is because they see in his actions the very things that they hate about themselves. Everyone likes to think that racism is a thing of the past. They like to say…”Hey, I have a black friend,” or “I have a Hispanic friend,” so “I’m cool.” The truth is, if you have to claim you have a black friend to prove that you aren’t racist, you have a long ways to go. When you ask your black friend how they feel about George Zimmerman killing Trayvon Martin, you are tapping into your own stereotypical prejudices because… Well, let me ask this. Why would a black person feel any differently than a white person or Hispanic person or a Native American or a Chinese person about the death of a child? That’s just plain ignorance.

And for those who think that Trayvon Martin’s murder was justified, you just don’t get it. And you probably never will. Let me repeat myself on the off chance that you’ll understand. Trayvon Martin’s death was not regrettable nor was it inevitable. His death was wrong and nothing can change that simple fact.

The death of Trayvon Martin from the gun fired by George Zimmerman can be partly attributed to race, but it is to a larger degree about so much more than just race. It is about the world that we have created.

Frankly, I can’t understand why everybody feels justified in holding George Zimmerman to a higher standard than they hold themselves. If we want to make Trayvon Martin’s death mean something, we need to start working on cleaning up our act. Trayvon Martin’s blood is on all of our hands. His blood is on the hands of those who are fearful of some stereotypical black male, or Chicano, or some white youth sporting dreadlocks, or a group of rambunctious teenagers who aren’t dressed in the latest piece of commercial crap from Abercrombie & Fitch. The blood is all over your face and hands.

And, if you’ve moved past stereotypes so that you no longer experience such fears? You’re still guilty. You are guilty because you haven’t worked harder to eliminate the fear from the world. If you want to make sure there are no more Trayvon Martins, then I suggest you get off your hypocritical ass and start making the world a safer place for people to walk around in.

And for those who believe that George Zimmerman just did what he had to do, well, Trayvon Martin’s blood has saturated your soul and your only salvation is to beg for forgiveness from the thousands upon thousands of children who die needless violent deaths each year. There is something definitely wrong with a world view that is so accepting of the murder of children.

I am no less guilty of Trayvon Martin’s death than anyone else. But I am not a hypocrite. I don’t want George Zimmerman’s head. I don’t blame him for my weakness. I know exactly where to place the blame. The blame rests with a society that creates the conditions where such a tragedy can occur. What I want is a society that accepts responsibility for its own complicity. I’m willing to accept my part. What about everyone else?

The problem with accepting responsibility is that so many people want blood instead. They want vengeance. They want someone to suffer for Trayvon Martin’s death. Once again, it’s not George Zimmerman’s place to be slaughtered so we can go back to our lives and continue shaking our superior heads in hypocritical disgust at the things others do wrong. No, the person, or people, who should suffer are those who put the gun in George Zimmerman’s hands.

What kind freaking idiot passes a law that makes it easier to kill someone? More to the point, what sort of moron would argue that the best way to make the world safer is to arm everyone so that we can shoot the “bad people”? A society that reasons like that is ripe for innocent people being killed by other people whose only crime is that they are afraid.

If you want to punish someone, punish the politicians and lobbyists who are responsible for the Stand Your Ground law. Anyone with half a brain would have known that such a law is a recipe for disaster. Since it is reasonable to assume that the responsible politicians and lobbyists have intact brains, then they should have been able to reason that such a law would inevitably lead to the death of Trayvon Martin or some other child. Trayvon Martin’s death was a foreseeable outcome of their gun policies. It is those politicians and lobbyists that should be prosecuted and thrown into prison.

Punishment shouldn’t stop with the politicians and the lobbyists. Don’t forget the National Rifle Association. Or rather, don’t forget the executive branch of the NRA. They are the ones who are arguing for more guns in the hands of more people. Their claim that “guns don’t kill people but people kill people” is one of the stupidest pieces of trite that has ever come from the mind of man. If you arm everyone with banana cream pie, then people will get sticky…perhaps put on a few pounds…but they won’t get killed. When you arm people with guns, well, they use guns to resolve their conflicts or make themselves feel brave when they are afraid. It stands to reason that the more people, who have guns in their hands, the greater the likelihood that some innocent person will be killed.

The NRA is sort of correct. Guns don’t kill people. It’s the executive branch of the NRA kills people.

Personally, the way I view it, if the NRA wants to promote policies and laws that increase the number of guns on the streets, go for it. It’s the right of the NRA and its membership. But I think we should also hold people like Wayne LaPierre and Jim Porter responsible for any innocent deaths resulting from the legislation they push for. If you want to know who should be held responsible for the killing of Trayvon Martin, it is Wayne LaPierre, Jim Porter and the others who are part of their inner circle of insanity.

The only people who need access to guns are the military, law enforcement, hunters, collectors and those who like to shoot guns at targets…not people. People, who are afraid, don’t need guns. They need a society that makes them feel safe.